Computerized directories are designed to facilitate communication between, with or about real world objects such as people, organizations, printers, application processes and distribution lists. For example, a directory can be used to determine a person's telephone number, as long as some other information about that person is known. Directories generally consist of a collection of information about real world objects and telecommunications services. International standards have been developed to specify how data in a directory can be accessed, retrieved, modified, protected, replicated and distributed across systems. Such standards include X.500 and Light-Weight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP). For the purposes of this invention, it is only important that data about objects be stored in a directory with a hierarchical structure that can be accessed using LDAP.
A geographically dispersed combination of directory servers can cooperate to support a global tree structure. Alternatively, directories can connect to form separate islands of data. Users of the directory, including people and application processes, can interactively access a directory server with the assistance of application processes designed to facilitate such access.
Each directory object is represented by an entry (node) in the directory. Each entry has one or more attributes associated with it. For example, an entry pertaining to a person object may have an attribute of telephoneNumber=+1 603 123 4567.
As noted above, users of the directory include application processes. Application processes such as voice messaging systems (VMSs) are widely used and there has been considerable interest expressed in enabling VMSs to send voice messages over the Internet to an Internet mail address. Consequently, it would be advantageous for application processes like VMSs to have a mechanism for converting a person's telephone number into an alternate address such as an Internet mail address using a directory.
The Voice Messaging Committee of the Electronic Messaging Association has defined a method for mapping from telephone number to Internet mail address for use by VMSs. An EMA document (Address Resolution for Voice Mail Systems: X.500 Methodology) proposed a way to use the X.500 Directory services to map from a telephone number to an Internet mail address. The voice messaging directory described in that document includes a sub-tree structure that accords with the components of the North American Numbering Plan (NANP). The sub-tree is therefore structured with a country code, area code, exchange and local number. While this sub-tree structure is useful for VMS users in North America, it does not easily permit a global messaging service without knowing all dial plans used by all the countries in the world.
At this time, there is no global directory available for locating objects without a search using telephone numbers or any other unique identifier consisting of alphanumeric sequence of variable length.
It is desirable that users of a VMS be able to transparently dispatch voice mail messages by Internet electronic mail to recipients served by telephone numbering plans other than the NANP. To date, no method of creating a directory structure for accommodating such transparent addressing has been disclosed.
It is also desirable to provide a method of creating a directory structure which will accommodate other unique identifiers which consist of variable length alphanumeric sequences. Such a sub-tree structure would facilitate data retrieval without a search using unique identifiers developed for Intelligent Network (IN) services such as calling card, personal communications and telephone mobility, Internet-based services and telephone directory assistance services.
It is further desirable to provide a method of creating a directory structure which permits and facilitates the use of "numbers for life" and globally portable telephone numbers, and permits objects to be located using such numbers without the necessity of a search.